SSH2005

It still pains me when I think about it.

The real question is why the f***balls are the Pirates trying to replace Craig Wilson in right field? He must be one of the most underrated players in the MLB. Craig Wilson's career line: .268 AVG / .363 OBP / .488 SLG / .851 OPS He can also play both corner outfield spots, first base, and some catcher. He can put up Dye-like numbers in a healthy, full season (see his 2004 stats). An outfield of Jason Bay in LF, Chris Duffy in CF, and Craig Wilson in RF is fine as is. That outfield is already light-years better than the Cubs' outfield. The Pirates would be moronic to dump Wilson and sign Sosa.

Olivo hit very well with the Padres last season but I heard they let him go because they weren't too keen on his glovework. His main problem offensively is that he could never hit righties. He destroys lefties though. Just look at Olivo's career splits. He owns a .910 career OPS versus lefties but only a .569 career OPS versus righties. That just makes him a platoon catcher and the one who gets the fewest at bats since there are obviously far less lefty pitchers in the MLB. Come to think of it, if we didn't have Widger, Olivo would've make a damn good platoon partner with Pierzynski.

It's his voice, his obsession with all things Cubs, and the fact that he says he will put aside time to talk about the Sox but never does. He just always ends up talking about the Cubs.

I can't believe that Olivo has already been on three teams since the Garcia trade. Three teams in a year and a half! I never thought that Olivo would be a star but I never thought he would be a journeyman either.

Well, I don't think this trade is going to happen either because of KW's apparent manlove for Brian Anderson but I could see there being some truth to the Astros offering Taveras and prospects for Contreras. They could then try Chris Burke in center field. When Bagwell officially retires, they could then move Berkman to 1B full-time and put Luke Scott in LF. If Clemens decides to retire or they can't afford him anymore, I could see the Astros wanting to cover their bases with a guy like Contreras.

There are other big differences between Taveras and Pierre though. Taveras is very cheap and would be under the Sox control for years. Pierre will be making millions next year and will be a free agent after the season is over. But even though Taveras will be cheap for years, he is still a Boras client. I agree with you on KW though. He loves guys with power while Ozzie cares more about guys who play good defense and have speed. Look no further than the lineups that KW fielded before 2005 -- lineups mostly stacked with power hitters. It took Ozzie being the Sox manager to get a guy like Podsednik. I agree that Owens is probably the same type of player as Taveras. But the reason I would rather have Taveras over Owens is that Taveras plays great defense in center field and has a strong arm. Owens projects as a left fielder, if I recall correctly. Agreed, Anderson's defense in CF will be the key. Any decent offense from him will be a plus. And if you end up being right in your projection for Anderson (.740 OPS), he will match Rowand's production from last season (.736 OPS).

I actually think that Anderson could steal 20 bases if Ozzie ran him a lot. Rowand stole 16 bases last year and Anderson has as much if not more speed than him. Hell, Dye had 11 SB last season. But I do agree with you to some extent. Many posters here think only about what players THEY would want to acquire, not the types of players that OZZIE and KW would realistically want to add to the Sox. I wouldn't care about Taveras's OPS. I would care about his OBP though, especially since he would be batting second with us. And I would rather have Taveras if he had a higher OBP, even if his AVG was lower. Of course, he could improve on his OBP and I would hope he did if we acquired him.

That's what I would fear the most in acquiring Taveras. I like his apparent ability to hit for AVG, bunting ability, speed, defense, and arm in center field but I would hate it if we acquired him and he put up the same low OBP in the #2 spot. I'd rather have him hit for a lower AVG and put up a higher OBP. Of course, Taveras could no doubt improve on his plate patience.

Good point. I disagree on Crede breaking out as well. I think he will always be the same player. Play great defense, hit a bunch of homers, but never hit for average or get on base at a good rate. But if you are going to knock Anderson for striking out a lot (which I agree that he will), you also have to knock Taveras for doing the same.

Taveras struck out 103 times and only walked 25 times last season.

I do too. But how many teams have two of the same type of player in their outfield (Podsednik and Taveras)? Not many, because it would weaken their lineup.

Heh, I have a feeling you know what AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS are.

Stats like AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS are pretty basic. I don't think I'm sounding like a stathead for bringing them up. Taveras is a singles hitter and has more speed. Anderson has more power. I don't need stats to realize that.

I don't think anyone is saying that Brian Anderson will be a star in 2006 (at least I hope no one is). It's just that Rowand was hardly impressive offensively last season. He had a pretty mediocre .736 OPS. As long as Anderson plays solid defense in center field, we should be alright.

This "proven postseason commodity" stuff is pure crap. Podsednik never played in the postseason either and did very well. If you would honestly rather have Uribe over Tejada because Uribe put up good numbers in the postseason and is therefore a "proven postseason commodity," you're nuts.

You keep saying that Taveras could hit 9th where Anderson would be hitting. But because of his speed and bunting ability he would bat second in Ozzie's world, regardless of what you say. And his low OBP would hurt there.

I understand that but can you promise me Taveras will put up a .360+ OBP in the future? Nope. He will have to greatly improve on his plate patience.

If Taveras truly has .360+ OBP potential in him, I wouldn't mind having him regardless of his lack of extra base hits. His defense and arm in center field adds a lot to his value. I just wouldn't want the current .325 OBP Taveras.

I would expect it to increase as well but he is going to have to get a lot more patient at the plate. 25 walks and 103 strikeouts is pretty bad. But it was only his rookie year afterall.

Well, AVG matters for knocking in runs. But for a leadoff hitter like Taveras, I would rather have a lower AVG and a higher OBP.

Because OBP is a far more important stat than AVG, especially when it comes to a leadoff-type hitter like Taveras. His AVG is good while his OBP stinks. I'd rather have Taveras if he had a .270 AVG and a .360 OBP.

Taveras has a high AVG because he hits a lot of groundball singles and is also a great bunter. He beats out a lot of routine outs for the average player because of his speed. He actually tries to slap the ball into his ground so he can use his speed to beat it out. He doesn't hit many extra base hits at all. It's no surprise why he put up a high AVG and probably will continue to do so at least until he loses his speed with age.